Businessmen see coin-operated laundry in Atlantic City as compliment to convenience store

ATLANTIC CITY—The empty storefront adjacent to Hometown Market was being used for storage for the convenience store, but owner Dipak Goswami said he wanted something else there that could play off the business.

His solution: the SAI Coin Laundry. This is a Maytag equipped laundry, a type of franchise through Maytag without franchise fees, he said.

Goswami said he is betting on several factors that make his new facility, which opened in July, stand out. There is a large parking lot, a proximity to the Sovereign Avenue School with potential customers when parents pick up and drop off their children, and the role of the convenience store itself, which he bought in 2007. The convenience store was formerly a Cumberland Farms.

‘All the people who are sitting here for half .We have the laundry detergent there too,” said Goswami, 50, of Marlboro, Monmouth County. “They complement each other.”

Richard LaMaina is president of Equipment Marketers in Cherry Hill, an independent distributor for Maytag Commercial Laundry for a franchise-concept store called Maytag equipped Laundry.

The stores have a franchise look, with Maytag-brand equipment, signage and financing, but do not have to pay royalties, Equipment Marketers said.

LaMaina said this is a relatively new concept for the brand.

He said his company has worked to put in about a dozen of these franchise-style facilities in South Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and the Eastern Shore region of Maryland.

“We recommend certain equipment to be in here,” he said.

Goswami owns the laundry business with Mayur Patel, 32, of Galloway Township.

A former Dunkin’ Donuts franchise owner, Goswami said he had eyed the space next to his convenience store for a while.

Hurricane Sandy flooded the convenience store and the former storage area with 18 inches of water.

“It made us think what we should do with it,” he said.

The laundry has 17 Maytag washers and 12 dryers.

Like other business owners in Atlantic City, Goswami is facing a period of uncertainty tied to the region’s casino industry troubles.

Goswami has experienced sharply increased property taxes at his convenience store, and the prospect that some customers will lose their jobs when as many as three casinos close this year.

“I hope the customers stay. That’s a big fear,” he said.

He hopes the laundry business and the convenience store business can bolster each other.

About Equipment Marketers: In business since 1945, Equipment Marketers is an expert in the design and development of Maytag® Commercial Equipped Laundromats in the Mid-Atlantic area. Maytag's dependability for quality equipment is matched only by Equipment Marketers' reputation for superior Red Carpet Service and customer support. Equipment Marketers' specialized sales representatives can provide broad-based knowledge in successful commercial laundry development, including information on demographics, store layout, laundry accessories and the proper mix of equipment. Equipment Marketers also distributes the highest technology in credit/smart card programs, online laundry monitoring systems, and other ancillary laundry supplies. The company's extensive parts warehouse and personalized attention are just a few reasons why people have continued to patronize Equipment Marketers for over a half a century.